Benjamin Wachs: Paying taxes is a patriotic duty

Thursday

Apr 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMApr 29, 2010 at 4:23 PM

Some Americans are willing to fight and die for their country — to put life and limb on the line and sacrifice for the good of America. Other Americans think that paying their taxes is too great a sacrifice to make.

Benjamin Wachs

For the past year now we’ve been treated to the spectacle of people screaming that they won’t pay for their country.

I’ve never heard of anything so unpatriotic.

Some Americans are willing to fight and die for their country — to put life and limb on the line and sacrifice for the good of America. Other Americans think that paying their taxes is too great a sacrifice to make. Oh, sure, other people can die for America, but these people won’t spend a cent if they can get out of it.

“Lower our taxes!” they scream, while our soldiers fight.

Some of these protesters dress up like patriots, like Revolutionary War figures, and it’s a slap in the face to everything this country stands for. The Revolutionary War wasn’t fought against taxes — it was fought for representative democracy. The slogan was “No taxation without representation,” not “No taxation.” And when America was newly free and a group of farmers decided they should get to decide what taxes they would and wouldn’t pay, George Washington himself ordered them to be put down.

George Washington wasn’t a tyrant — he was a democratically elected president, and he was right. Taxes, so long as they’re set by a legitimate legislative budgeting process in a genuinely representative democracy, are a sacrifice we make so that our country can be strong and our democracy can do the people’s will.

If you’re not paying your fair share of taxes, you don’t support the troops. Not just in the field, where taxes buy the body armor and bullets needed to fight the wars you supported, but also at home, where taxes pay for the care and services veterans need to return to society after years of sacrifice.

If you’re trying to lower taxes to the point where they can’t support our troops in the field or at home, you’re hanging our troops and veterans out to dry. Breaking America’s promise to them.

It’s not just the troops that are on the line, either; it’s our way of life.

Does anyone want a second financial crisis like the one we went through in 2008 and 2009? The best way to prevent it is by going after the banks and businesses that triggered it — and making sure they can never do it again. What does that take? Manpower: regulators, accountants, lawyers and law enforcement. An economic security force. What pays for our economic security forces? Tax dollars. Tax dollars keep predatory companies in line.

If you’re not angry that so many businesses aren’t paying their fair share of taxes (like Exxon, which didn’t pay a cent of federal income taxes for 2009), then you’re making an economic collapse more likely for your children and grandchildren.

The more wealthy people scream at the government to lower their already low taxes during a time of economic crisis, the more cuts to Medicare and Social Security become inevitable. Tax cheats, and their political supporters, are kicking the elderly out of their homes and snatching the medicine from their hands. If the anti-tax protesters want to cut taxes and Medicare, well, that’s their right, I guess. Personally, I think the elderly should be supported and cared for. But one thing is clear: People who support anti-tax protests are making it harder to retire in America.

People who protest against taxes are protesting against adequate funding to protect the American border from criminals, terrorists and illegal immigrants.

Paying taxes is one of the few patriotic duties we all share as Americans. Every April 15, those of us who pledge allegiance to the flag are asked to put our money where our mouth is. It’s civics 101 — for democracy to work, we all have to pitch in.

I’m tired of people claiming to be “patriots” right after they’ve shouted that they won’t pay their fair share.

Aren’t you?

Benjamin Wachs writes for Messenger Post Media’s print and online editions. Read his work at www.TheWachsGallery.com.

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